


I am: The Shifter

by leeknowcantswim



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 3racha are a superhero group, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Fluff and Angst, Humor, M/M, Minho is a superhero, Not Beta Read, Sarcasm, cuz im lame, felix and hyunjin are his best friends, felix and hyunjin lowkey have the hots for one another, kinda like spiderman, like its there but not detailed., minho falls for jisung lol, superhero au, theres a violence but it isnt really described, theyre next in the series tho, theyre powers arent really mentioned in this fic sorry, this is 11000 words of pure mess, well he calls himself a vigilante but hes more a superhero, woojin seungmin and jeongin dont appear in this one oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-30 21:41:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19036141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leeknowcantswim/pseuds/leeknowcantswim
Summary: Lee Minho had always been a little odd. Ever since he was little, he would do things that others deemed abnormal, strange.As he would walk home from school, it was almost like all the animals in the area were drawn towards him, trailing behind him or fluttering by his head.When he was a kid, perhaps around 3 or 4, he had gotten lost in the forest nearby. After his panicked mother called the police, the search party found him calmly sitting beside a dog, chattering away as he grabbed handfuls of the fluffy fur between his tiny hands.He found find lost dogs and cats, returning them to their owners easily, kindly telling them to keep a close eye on the beloved pets. He even found a small toad once for a friend.orMinho is a superhero. This is his origin. Feat! Guys-in-chair Felix and Hyunjin!





	I am: The Shifter

**Author's Note:**

> This work is apart of a series of one-shots that are all connected. They can be read in no particular order unless stated otherwise.

Lee Minho had always been a little odd. Ever since he was little, he would do things that others deemed abnormal, strange. 

 

As he would walk home from school, it was almost like all the animals in the area were drawn towards him, trailing behind him or fluttering by his head. 

 

When he was a kid, perhaps around 3 or 4, he had gotten lost in the forest nearby. After his panicked mother called the police, the search party found him calmly sitting beside a dog, chattering away as he grabbed handfuls of the fluffy fur between his tiny hands. 

 

He found find lost dogs and cats, returning them to their owners easily, kindly telling them to keep a close eye on the beloved pets. He even found a small toad once for a friend. 

 

Minho became known as the Animal Whisper of his tiny town, everyone knowing of his ability to seemingly talk to animals. 

 

What they didn't know was that Minho could not only talk to animals but he could also shift into their forms. 

 

That time he had gotten lost in the woods? He had shifted into a puppy, chasing after the local stray he wanted to pet in the tiny and fluffy form, bounding after the older dog without his mother noticing. 

 

Finding his friends toad? He had shifted into a frog himself and swam through 4 different ponds and rivers until he found the thing. 

 

Minho had kept his ability to shift into animals a secret since he was young, never uttering a word to anyone once he realized his ability wasn't normal. 

 

The one time he allowed someone in on his secret, it ended in a lost friendship and rumours being spread.

 

When he moved to the big city for school, he kept the secret to himself still -- until his roommate Lee Felix accidentally walked in on him shifting into a cat (his favoured form). The boy had admittedly fainted on the spot, leaving Minho half shifted with only cat ears and sharpened nails. 

 

The thump of Felix's body hitting the ground had attracted the attention of their friend and neighbour, Hwang Hyunjin, who had stumbled in holding a spatula and ready to attack. He had taken one look at Felix on the ground and Minho still half shifted and turned around, declaring he 'was not dealing with this at 8am before class you assholes'. 

 

When Felix woke up and Hyunjin had returned with a large coffee, Minho told them.

 

He told them about the first time he shifted, an about realizing he was alone in his abilities, about how much of a struggle it was when he was younger, how alone he felt even surrounded in friends. 

 

How scared he was to tell anyone. 

 

He hadn't been able to look either of them in the eye, especially after the silence that followed. 

 

Then Felix broke the silence with, "Can you transform into a goat?"

 

Minho had startled, eyes widening as he nodded in slight confusion. 

 

Hyunjin scoffed, "Really Lix, a goat?" 

 

Felix made a noise, "What? I'm over here asking the real questions!"

 

Minho watched in awe as his friends began to bicker, eyes starting to glisten with tears as a weight was lifted off his shoulders. 

 

"Thank you guys, really." Minho had whispered later that night, watching Hyunjin struggle to swallow around a mouthful of Thai food while Felix beamed towards him. 

 

The topic of Superheroes and Supervillains didn't arise between the three of them until a group that called themselves '3Racha' (what kind of name is 3racha Minho had instantly thought) stopped a group of bank robbers just down the street from Felix and Minho's apartment. 

 

"You know," Hyunjin waved a drumstick around, smacking Felix's hands as he tried to grab it, "you could easily have taken them down too. With your powers."

 

Minho eyed Felix's pouting face before silently handing him one of his chicken thighs, earning a grin, "What do you mean?"

 

Hyunjin quickly stuffed the drumstick in his mouth before swallowing the meat, moving his hands to form 'claws' as he spoke, "You know with your roar roar shifting thing." He made a growling sound with his throat as if it would help paint the image in their minds. 

 

Minho made a face as Felix snorted, choking on the chicken in his mouth as Hyunjin scowled towards them both, "Hyunjin, the largest animal be shifted into is a goat for Felix. I don't even know if I can shift into something that goes 'roar roar'."

 

"That's the thing," Hyunjin pointed towards Minho, " You haven't tested the full length of your powers right? Who knows what you could transform into. Think about the possibilities!" 

 

Felix nodded, "Theoretically you can shift into any animal. So you should be able to shift into something that goes 'roar roar'. It's just getting there that's the unknown part."

 

Minho pursed his lips, "Ok yeah, theoretically I can. But I have no idea how!" 

 

"It'd be the same as when you shift into something small, just, well larger."

 

Minho sighed, "Then what? I just, what, go out there and start fighting crime? Come on guys, I'm just a struggling University student, how am I meant to help?"

 

Hyunjin deadpans, "Minho, everyone knows you don't cross a struggling University student. You'd be perfect!"

 

"Yeah, you can scare them with the image of your face in the morning easily!" Felix added, smirking at Minho's offended face. 

 

Hyunjin kept going as if Felix hadn't spoken, "Besides, what do you think 3racha are? There's no way the one, what's he called J...JThree? JSix?" 

 

"J.ONE." Minho supplied, looking more and more unimpressed by the second.

 

Hyunjin snapped his fingers, "That's the name! J.ONE! There's no way that guy is any older than me and Felix." 

 

Minho sighed, "I still don't see why I would make a good Superhero." 

 

"Because you care." Felix said softly, "You care about others in a way that not many people do. You're one of the only people I know that would willingly give a homeless person the clothes off your back without wondering if he deserved them or not. You would make the best kind of Superhero, the kind that people admire and look up too as a role model. Like I already do." 

 

"Plus your ass would look amazing in spandex." Hyunjin wiggled his eyebrows, completely ruining the moment. 

 

Both Minho and Felix rolled their eyes, exchanging a look before Minho sighed, knowing he wouldn't win this fight. 

 

"Fine. I'll...I'll give it a try." He smiled tentatively towards the two younger boys as they whooped in excitement. "But before we do this, we need to test how far my powers go. I need to know my strengths and weaknesses." 

 

"Agreed. Plus you'll need a suit, a name, maybe some gadgets…" Felix began to list things off, mind getting lost in the logistics of things, eyes glazing over in excitement. 

 

"Anyways, we will. I don't want to just throw you to the wolves Minho, we'll take it slow. Train you a bit, do some research. Felix can do his science shit, build the suit or whatever and I can help you run the tests to see if we can figure out your strengths and weaknesses." Hyunjin continued, nodding towards Felix, who had already rushed towards his room to grab his notebooks. 

 

"You know, we're lucky Felix is a Biochemical Engineering Major instead of a Dance Major like us." Minho sighed, slumping forward tiredly.  

 

Hyunjin laughed loudly, clapping Minho on the shoulder before standing up to grab his whiteboard. "Time for planning."

 

The next 3 months were spent planning, researching and testing. 

 

Felix had practically locked himself in one of the school labs, developing different formulas, fabrics and gadget that would help Minho in his fighting. Minho had been worried for the younger, having to drag him away from the lab at least once a week so the boy would rest. 

 

Hyunjin, on the other hand, had poured himself in writing out strategies, taking notes on Minho's powers every time they tested his powers. He kept a detailed notebook on everything including how long it took for him to transform back, what took the most energy what he needed to work on next, etc. 

 

Minho, for his part, went through training at a whole other level than he had before. Even as a dancer Minho had never trained in such a way, forcing his body to move differently than if he was in dance. He told Felix what fabrics felt best, which ones worked the best with his powers, tested the different gadgets the other created. He went along with every test that Hyunjin created, stretching his abilities farther than ever before. 

 

They had run into a snag when Minho accidentally shifted into a whale and couldn't shift back, forcing Hyunjin to dump buckets of water all over him as Minho struggled to turn back. That day ended up with Felix's Xbox destroyed and Minho exhausted. But at least they knew he could transform into sea animals. 

 

It took them another month for Felix to develop the perfect suit material and mask that would reason alongside Minho, not tearing or ripping as well a string both heat resistant and bullet resistant. Testing those last two were not fun experiences for Minho. 

 

After Felix was done and the suit deemed perfect, he passed out for 3 days straight while Hyunjin helped him perfect the final touches on his transformations. 

 

The day finally came for Minho to set out on his very first patrol. 

 

A Saturday was chosen, the Sunday following completely free along with the Monday just in case for all three boys. 

 

Minho was handed his suit, spandex-like fabric in deep blue colour with gold threading through it -- it looked vaguely like the night sky in Minho's opinion and was slightly thankful at his friend's thoughtfulness. Felix knew that Minho loved stars second only to his three cats back home and, well, his best friends. 

 

After tugging the fabric on, he hit the hidden button that shrunk the fabric to his body, watching it through the mirror. 

 

A smile played on his lips as he grabbed his mask, remembering the first time he had been handed his suit. 

 

Felix came storming in holding a bundle of fabric, eyes slightly crazed and a coffee stain on his white shirt and hair wild. 

 

"I've done it!" He yelled, throwing up his arms while holding the fabric tightly. He then threw the bundle towards Minho, who with his quick reflexes, grabbed it without thought. 

 

"Done what you mad, yet adorable scientist?" Hyunjin had acted all cool, leaning against the wall with a lollipop in his mouth as he eyed the fabric in confusion. 

 

"Found out the secret to life--made his suit you dumbass!" Felix looked exasperated as Minho fumbled with the fabric, "Be careful with that! That took me 2 weeks to develop!"

 

"Dude, he's going to he fighting in it. It's going to be roughed up." Hyunjin took an unreasonably long suck around his candy, "and we both know if anyone was going to find out the secret to life it's you Lix."

 

"He probably already knows it and is just holding out on us," Minho added, unravelling the fabric to reveal a suit -- only it couldn't have been made for him. 

 

"Um Felix, did you get xxx-large and medium mixed up again?" Hyunjin asked, chuckling at the suit as Minho tried to rest it against his body to compare sizes. 

 

"That was one time and you know it Hyunjinnie--" Felix marched towards Minho, making granny hands until Minho handed it over, muttering to himself about confusing men's sizes. 

 

"It's alright Felix, you can just change the size for me?" Minho tried to appease the boy, not wanting to be at the end of one of his glares like Hyunjin seemed to enjoy. 

 

Felix breathed out heavily through his nose, "I don't need to. Just put the damn thing on and hit this button, ok?" 

 

Minho eyed the fabric in confusion before his eyes found a concealed button Felix had sewn into the suit near his wrist. Minho nodded before taking the suit, gesturing for both boys to turn away as he changed. 

 

Hyunjin made a fuss, "I don't understand why! It's not like we haven't seen anything before with all the clothes ripping! Remember the sea lion incident?"

 

"Just turn around pretty boy--" Felix shoved him on the shoulder, already fading away. 

 

Hyunjin sighed loudly, "Fine."

 

Minho carefully pulled the fabric on, slipping his legs and arms in what he could only assume was the leg and armholes. He cleared his throat, signalling for the two to turn around. 

 

Hyunjin whistled, clapping his hands at the sight of Minho practically swimming in the suit, "Great job Lix, maybe he can stop petty crime with the sight of his rocken body." 

 

Minho blushed a bright red as Felix ignored Hyunjin, coming to stand in front of Minho. The younger boy grabbed Minho's arm lightly, turning it around so his palm faced up. 

 

He smiled slightly towards Minho, "There's a button that's sewn into the fabric, it adjusts the suit to your size perfectly." He carefully pressed on the button, stepped back slightly. 

 

Both Minho and Hyunjin watched in amazement as the suit changed, morphing to fit Minho's body perfectly. There wasn't sag in fabric anywhere. 

 

"Wow…" Hyunjin muttered as Minho lifted his arm's in amazement, looking at the suit with wide eyes. 

 

Felix grinned triumphantly, "Ha! I told you to trust me."

 

Minho smiled towards his best friend, eyes twinkling slightly as he met Felix's own, "Thank you for this Felix. It's amazing. It must have taken forever to make."

 

Felix blushed, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand as he insists it was nothing, "Honestly, it as no problem! Once I had to the formula for the fabric developed I just had to make the suit. It's not only made to shift with you, but it also has a fibre embedded in it to help against knives and bullets. Oh, and I made it heat resistant to a degree."

 

Minho looked gratefully towards his friend, "Felix...Thank you. This is amazing." 

 

Felix shrugged, "It was nothing. Really. I just want you to be safe."

 

"Well now that he has the suit, he'll definitely be safe." Hyunjin clapped the other on the back, "Good job Felix, I know no one else could have made a better suit. Now, Minho let's run through some tests…"

 

"Oi, Snow White, you ok in there?" Hyunjins voice startled him out of his memories, Minho fumbling with the mask. 

 

"Yeah, I'm good." He slipped the mask on over his eyes, watching as it expanded to cover anything that would identify him. 

 

After going through all the laws regarding Superheroes, they had decided that the best bet was for nothing to connect Minho and his superhero form to one another. They could apply for a licence but it would take months, maybe years without experience. So instead they would put the application in and Minho would join the ranks of vigilantes that protected the world. 

 

Sliding open the door to the room, he padded over towards Felix and Hyunjin, both lounging around on the couch with day-old takeout in front of them along with Felix's high tech laptop that was connected to Minho's suit to watch his vitals and GPS. 

 

Hyunjin glanced up at him as he entered the room, looking him over quickly before nodding. "You ready for this no-name?" 

 

Minho scolded towards him briefly, "I will figure out my superhero name with time Hyunjin. I told you already I am not going with CatMan." 

 

Hyunjin rolled his eyes but nodded, "Whatever..." 

 

"You ready for this Minho?" Felix asked, glancing up from his screen to meet Minho’s masked eyes. "When you go out there, you'll be alone physically but both Hyunjin and I will be on comm the whole time."

 

Minho swallowed back his nerves, smilingly slightly to reassure Felix he was ready, "Let's do this."

 

Hyunjin nodded, expression turning serious for a moment, "Remember. At any moment you want to back out of this-" 

 

"Just come home and we'll hang up the suit." Minho finished, moving over to the window that had been left open. "I'm ready."

 

Hyunjin and Felix nodded, Felix, giving him a sloppy salute before turning back to the screen of his laptop, leaving Hyunjin to say the last encouraging words to their friend. 

 

"Just don't turn into a whale again and you'll be fine." 

 

Minho didn't grant him a response as he turned and dove out of the window, body shifting into a bird as he flew through the air. 

 

"Think he'll be alright?" Felix asked after a second of watching Minho's vitals, finger itching to grab the food in front of him. 

 

"I think he'll choke first sign of danger but get over it." Hyunjin replied, hands already covered in the grease from the food he had stuffed in his mouth, "But as long as he doesn't turn into any sea animals he should be fine."

 

\---

 

Minho carefully eyed the area around him before shifting back into his human form. Leaning against the wall, he sighed. 

 

So far the night had been quiet, only the sound of barking and hissing interrupting the night air. 

 

As bad it sounded, Minho wished something, anything would happen. He had long since stopped listening to the comms after the sound of Hyunjins constant chewing annoyed him to the point he wanted to crush the tiny comm under his boot. He had only stopped when he remembered how much time and effort Felix had put into creating the thing. 

Minho froze as his sensitive hearing picked up on a sound. Along with transforming into animals and controlling them like the pied piper, Minho had enhanced senses in his human form which included sight, smell, hearing and speed. 

 

“Come on man, hurry up already!”

 

“Relax man, everything's going to plan.” 

 

Smirking, Minho quietly vaulted himself off the wall and onto the roof of the building next to him, padding across the roof as quiet as a cat before peering over the edge of the building into the alleyway next door. 

 

2 figures, both dressed entirely in black and with ski masks pulled over their faces were huddled together towards the back end of the alleyway, in front of the backdoor to the business that occupied the building. 

 

Minho smirked. Perfect. 

 

Taking a deep breath to calm his heart rate, he shifted into a snake and slithered down a nearby pipe. He made a low hissing noise that seemed to both startle and confuses the criminal that was already tense, Minho hearing his heartbeat rise slightly. 

 

“Dude...are there snakes in Seoul?” he whispered to his buddy who just grunted in response.

 

Minho transformed back as soon as the criminal's eyes were away from his hiding spot, moving forwards quietly. 

 

A playful smirk played on his lips as he eyed the two before him, Felix's facial recognition system built into his mask instantly searching through the police databases -- Minho did not want to know how his friends managed to hack into the police database -- and news reports, anything that could get a facial match. 

 

A match came up for both the men before him, Felix reading out the names for him through the comm, “One Kim Joo-won and Park Dongson. Kim is wanted for petty theft while Park is wanted for Burglary and assault on a police officer. Seems like Parks got a temper so watch out Min.”

 

“Evening boys,” Minho called out playfully, voice echoing across the alleyway. 

 

“Shit.” Kim paled as he whipped around, eyes wide in fear and shock, “Who the fuck are you?” 

 

“My name isn't important right now,” Minho moved forwards slightly, head tilted like a curious cat, “What is important is the fact that you're attempting to break into a building. That isn't very nice you know.” 

 

“What are you going to do about it?” Park growled out, dropping the lock picking tools and standing straight, eyes blown wide in anger at being caught. 

 

Minho pretended to think, “Hm well I guess I could call the police on you, you both are wanted after all.” he smirked wider, “Or we could have some fun instead.” 

 

“F-fun?” Kim whimpered, eyes darting between Park and Minho. Minho pitted him. It was clear Kim was the mastermind of this whole thing. 

 

“You beat me in this fight, you go free,” Minho said, his whole stance shifting as he looked directly at Park. 

 

Park smirked, cracking his knuckles as he chuckled, “Kid, you’re going to wish you never put on that costume.” 

 

Minho shifted into a stubble fighting stance, eyes hard behind his mask. “Come at me then.” 

 

Two things happened in the next moment. 

 

First, Kim swung forwards with his entire body, pooling his strength into his fist as he aimed for Minho's face, leaving himself entirely defenceless and open. 

 

Second, Minho shifted, hand grabbing the others arm and using the others own weight against him, he threw him into the brick wall behind him. Minho didn't even have to look back for him to know that Kim was knocked out. 

 

“Nice job Min!” Hyunjin praised over the comm, mouth finally clear of food. 

 

Minho smiled slightly to himself, glad his instincts -- and all the training Hyunjin put him through -- helped him fight without even breaking into a sweat.

 

Kim took one look at Park and raised his hands, eyes wide with fear as Minho turned towards him. “I surrender! Call the cops! I don’t care!” 

 

Minho smiled towards him, “Glad you saw it my way.” 

 

Later, as Minho finished tying the two   together and calling the police to leave an anonymous tip, he leaned close to Kim, whispering quietly, “You don’t have to have this life, Joowon,” 

 

And then he left, body shifting into a bat as sirens pulled up in front of the alley, leaving Joowon staring after him in both amazement and confusion. 

 

\----

 

After the first patrol, things got easier for Minho. 

 

He soon made a name for himself through the whispers of the criminals on the streets of Seoul. Of course, no one knew his name -- after all Minho, himself didn't even know his name yet, it was a work in progress -- instead choosing to call him The Shifter, word spreading about his abilities quicker than Hyunjin could eat chicken.

 

Minho didn't know how he felt about the name the criminals gave him while both Felix and Hyunjin thought it sounded cool, mysterious even. 

 

“It gives you this image man,” Hyunjin said, eyes glazing over in excitement the first time he heard the name from a criminal over Minho's comm. 

 

“Yeah, it makes you sound cooler than you actually are.” Felix had added, earning him a smack as soon as Minho climbed back in through the window. 

 

Minho wasn't ready to fully adopt the name as his own, choosing to remain nameless for the time being. 

 

Soon enough 5 months had passed, Minho going out every day he could to patrol and protect the area he chose to go to that night. 

 

He had good nights, nights were he stopped petty criminals like he did his first patrol, tying them up and leaving them for the police to collect. 

 

He also had bad nights, nights where he barely made it back to through the window of his apartment, either Hyunjin or Felix dragging him fully inside and helping them to their best degree. 

 

It had gotten to the point both boys had chosen to become certified in CPR alongside Hyunjin considering to take classes in the medical department. 

 

But Minho never regretted agreeing to his best friends plan. He had realized something while saving a young girl from being kidnapped one night. 

 

The police couldn't be everywhere at once. Hell, with the amount of crime that was in the city, they could barely be where they were really needed. Minho was gifted with these powers, given a chance to use them for the power of good. Minho could help people. He could be there for them when the police couldn’t. 

 

That's what being a Superhero was to Minho. It was caring for those that didn’t have anyone and those that did. It was trying your best to save just one person. 

 

Felix had been right when he said Minho would make a great Superhero.

 

Hyunjin had also been right when he said sooner or later Minho would be facing a real baddie. 

 

It had to have happened at the end of his patrol.

 

Minho was just about to head home when he heard it. The sound of a gun cocking. Darting over the rooftops, Minho trailed after the sound before crouching in front of a particularly dark alleyway. 

 

He peered below him, silently thanking his enhanced sight as the moon was covered by a few clouds, darkening the scene below him even more.  

 

“You sure these are enough guns for what boss wants?” one of the figures asked, cocking a gun and eyeing the male beside him.

 

“Yes. Now get a move on.” the other male growled, eyes glowing slightly as he looked around the alleyway. “We don’t want any of those Supers showing up and stopping us.” 

 

Minho took that as his cue to enter, “Well how about a Vigilante?” 

 

Minho dodged an array of bullets, frowning towards the two as he landed in a crouched position on the ground. 

 

“Minho watch out. These guys aren't no petty criminals.” Felix's voice echoed in his ear, “The big one's name is Chae Minji. He is wanted for big things, but he’s never been caught. According to this file, he’s the right-hand man of some big baddie that moved to town 3 years ago.”

 

Minho could barely listen to his friend, too busy dodging bullets that came flying towards him. Right when he stood up, thinking the bullets had ended his face was met with a fist, sending him flying into a nearby trash can. 

 

Shit. That wasn't normal strength. 

 

“Felix-” Minho groaned out, wincing as his jaw ached, “anything in the file about Chae having super strength?” 

 

“...no.” 

 

“Well, it looks like they missed something.” Minho rolled out of the way of an incoming kick, throwing himself to the side. “Shit.” 

 

Minho dived out of the way again, darting just out of reach of the big bully. Minho knew he was at a disadvantage here. Strength wasn't one of his strong points unless he transformed into something like a bear which wasn't really an option with the number of attacks this guy was throwing at him. He had to think about this. 

 

An idea came to mind. Minho smirked.

 

Standing his ground, he motioned for Chae to come at him. As Chae growled as he went to punch Minho into the ground, Minho swiped to the left. He darted forwards quickly, drawing speed from somewhere inside him. He quickly slammed his hand into the back of Chae's neck, hitting the pressure point he knew was there.

 

He back up as he watched Chae stumbled forwards, eyes wide in anger before falling shut as his body fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. 

 

Minho panted, turning towards the gunman -- only to see the gun on the ground and the guy long gone. 

 

Minho fell to his knees before crawling over to Chae, pulling out the extra strong rope Felix had developed for cases like this. Silently he thanked his friend for being so prepared. 

 

Quickly tying the goon up, he groaned, rubbing a hand over his jaw where a bruise was blooming. That was going to hurt in the morning. 

 

“You might want to get out of there Min, the police are about 2 mins away.” Felix’s soft voice startled him. 

 

Minho nodded, knowing Felix couldn’t see him as he forced himself to stand, limbs exhausted from the battle, “On my way home.” 

 

As Minho ran across the roofs, his dulled senses didn't catch on to the figures watching him, from across the street.

 

“So that's the Shifter huh?” one of them said, face pulled back into a smirk, “Kinda hot.”

 

“Shut up Jisung and get your ass moving.” another one growled, already darting up the wall and onto the roof. 

 

The figure huffed, glancing once more towards the distant figure of the Shifter before following his comrades. 

\---

 

Minho hissed as Hyunjin pressed none too gently to his jaw with a bag of frozen peas, glaring at the boy who just made a face back. 

 

“Chae Minji worked for one Park Sooyoung, crime boss extraordinaire. Park is known for illegal drugs, illegal fighting rings...pretty much any bad thing you can think of and they have their hand it in.” Felix informed them both, sliding his side to show off the information he had dug up from the police database. “Chae was a chemically enhanced superhuman, not like you Minho. A bunch of experiments were done back in the 90s to try and develop powers in normal civilians. It didn’t go well. Chae was the only successful experiment.”

 

“And he got Super Strength out of it,” Minho added, frowning. 

 

“You need to be careful Minho, Park isn't going to take it lightly that his best guy was taken out today.” Hyunjin warned, “I’m not saying stop but I am saying be wary.”

 

Minho was silent before he nodded, “Who knows how many more super powered people Park has under his belt…”

 

“Hopefully we’ll never have to find out.” Felix finished, closing his laptop. 

 

Not even 5 months later Minho would learn that it wasn't the people Park had that was most dangerous.

\----

 

“Lee Minho uh,” the figure threw the file holding all the information on the Shifter on the table, leaning back in their chair. “He’s young. Barely 22. But strong. It's not an easy feat to take down Chae.”

 

“What are we going to do about him now?” another one of the figures asked. 

 

“What are we going to do?” the figure leaned closer, a crazed grin on their face, “We’re going to show him he messed with the wrong people.” 

 

A shiver went down the spines of every person in the room, eyes locking onto the top of the table as laughter filled the room, crazed and loud. 

 

Most people flinched as the figure slammed their hands down on the table hard, eyes hard, “Find him. Find everything about him. Find what matters most to him.”

 

“And?” 

 

“And destroy it.” the figure's eyes glinted, a sick smile pulling on their lips. 

\----

 

“You have fan accounts mate, I’m telling you it's a good choice,” Felix said before slurping down half of his coffee in one go. “You can gain a following, gain more support! It’ll make things so much easier when your damn registration goes through finally.” 

 

“How is me making a Twitter account and an Instagram account for my Superhero self going to help any with that?” Minho asked quietly, trying to keep his voice down. 

 

“It’d get the Government moving most likely. Make them look at your application if you already have a following like other Superheros. Like 3racha.” Felix pointed out, glancing at his watch, “Where the hell is Hyunjin. I swear, he demands we meet here at this time then he doesn't show?” 

 

Minho rolled his eyes, “Don’t worry, your husband is probably just lost.” Minho pouted when Felix didn’t react to the husband comment more than an eye roll. He remembered a time when Felix would turn into a tomato at the comment. 

 

“Well, you're not wrong. That boy would lose his head if it wasn't attached.” Felix sighed tiredly, looking worn out. 

 

“You ok Lix? You look tired.” Minho frowned, reaching over to tap on his friend's cheek, “Shit you're so cold --” 

 

Felix smiled weakly, “I’ve been like this for the last week. It feels like all my energies been drained honestly-”

 

“I’m sorry I’m late! But look! I bring new friends!” Hyunjin stumbled to their table, somehow still looking model worthy even with being the mess that he was, “Potential friends that is.” 

 

Minho glanced over Hyunjins shoulder to see 3 guys, all probably around their age, standing in a huddle. Figures Hyunjin would be late to an hang out he planned due to his socializing. 

 

“This is Chan, Changbin and Jisung.” Hyunjin continued after gulping down the iced coffee Felix had gotten him, smiling in thanks to his best friend. “I, well, I ran into them on the street.” 

 

“Literally,” one of them says. Minho squints towards him. He was cute, chubby cheeks and sparkling eyes. Minho's type, although Minho didn’t really go for looks anymore. He learned his lesson long ago. “He made me dump my coffee all over the ground.” 

 

Hyunjin spluttered, “You ran into me! It's not my fault your coffee ended up feeding the sidewalk.” 

 

“I’m Chan,” the oldest, and sanest, looking one interrupted, holding a hand out to Minho. Chan beamed towards him and Minho had to admit he was charming. “Sorry about interrupting your hang out, Hyunjin insisted we come along.” 

 

Minho smiled slightly towards the newcomer, shaking his hand, “Minho. Sorry about the mess that we call Hyunjin, he’s lost without his husband.”

 

Hyunjin groaned, glaring towards Felix with a ‘don’t you dare do it’ expression that only grew as Felix sat up straighter, a mischievous grin on his face.

 

“‘Ello, husband here.” he waved at the group, “Names Felix. Nice to meet you three.” 

 

“Likewise,” the shortest one, who Minho thought might be Changbin returned, a grin on his lips. 

 

“Why don’t you guys join us? There's plenty of room,” Minho gestured to the empty seats, Hyunjin already claiming the one directly next to Felix and muttering in his ear as Felix only laughed. 

 

Chan exchanged looked with the other two before nodding, smiling brightly towards Minho. He took a seat next to him, the other two flopping into the leftover seats. 

 

“So...awkward question but are you and Hyunjin actually married?” Jisung asked, eyeing Hyunjin who had draped himself over Felix. 

 

Felix laughed, “No, not yet at least.” 

 

“So you guys are dating?” Changbin added, frowning slightly in confusion. 

 

“No.” Felix said, taking a sip from his cup as Hyunjin scowled, “But Hyunjin wishes we were.” 

Minho rolled his eyes, “Ignore them. They're stupid.” 

 

Jisung seemed to eye Minho, openly checking him out. Minho matched his look with one of confusion, head tilting to the side as Jisung opened his mouth. 

 

“So are you single?” 

 

Minho blinked but nodded, “Yeah I am.” 

 

Jisung seemed to grin triumphantly, eyes sparkling as his mouth opened once more to say something to Minho, “You wanna-”

 

The sound of BlackPink’s ‘Kill This Love’ interrupted whatever he was going to say, making his face melt into a scowl as Chan pulled out his phone quicker than Minho had ever seen, and he’d seen Felix trying to get Twice tickets for the three of them. 

 

Chan looked over the message on the screen before his eyes widened, looking to his friends before smiling apologetically towards the other three, “I’m so sorry but we have to go-” 

 

“What?-” Jisung yelped as Changbin yanked him up, pouting as he glanced back towards Minho once more. “Oh come on-” 

 

“I hope we can hang out again soon!” Chan called over his shoulder as he followed the other two through the cafe, stumbling over a few chairs in his rush to get to the door.

 

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, “How curious.” 

 

“They were interesting.” Felix’s eyes glinted, “I feel like I’ve seen them before somewhere.” 

 

Minho pursed his lips, “Me too...That Jisung...he was a really odd one. What do you think he was gonna say?” 

 

Minho looked towards his friends for help, only for Hyunjin and Felix to share a look that Minho didn't understand. 

 

He scowled, smacking Hyunjin on the arm before demanding he tells him what he was thinking. 

 

“Well Minne,” Hyunjins lips formed a Cheshire smile, “looks like someone has the hots for you!” 

 

Minho blinked. He gaped. He shifted his gaze to Felix who only nodded slightly towards him, revealing he too thought that Jisung had the ‘hots’ for him. Traitor. He expected this type of thing from Hyunjin, but not Felix. 

 

“What? No way!” Minho denied, stealing the rest of Hyunjins iced coffee. The boy made a noise of protest but gave up quickly when Felix ran his hand through his hair. Minho made a face at the not-couple in front of him. 

 

“He was clearly going to ask you out Minho,” Felix added unhelpfully. Really, he did not raise Felix this way. To slander him like this. 

 

“No he wasn’t-” Minho was cut off by the sound of a large crash outside of the cafe. 

 

Quickly, he shifted in his seat to look towards the windows, eyes widening as he shot back around to tackle both Felix and Hyunjin to the ground as the windows broke, glass shooting around the small cafe. Screams filled Minho’s ears as he covered his friend's bodies the best he could with his own. 

 

When only ringing was left, he shifted, looking down towards the two beneath him in worry. 

 

Both boys looked relatively ok, mostly confused but unharmed apart from a scratch on Felix's cheek. 

 

“Are you both ok?!” Minho quickly sat up, mindful of the glass as he watched the two move to sit up. 

 

Hyunjin winced as he pressed on his head gently, “Wow Minho, you’re stronger than you look.” 

 

“What's going on?” Felix asked worriedly, eyes peering over Minho’s shoulder to look out at the street. His eyes widened in realization before he hurriedly stood up, stumbling away from his friends. 

 

“Felix where are--” Minho whipped around to see what Felix had seen, “Oh god--” 

 

The street outside was a mess, cars thrown everywhere. There was a light post that had broken laying across the pavement, electricity shooting out of it every few seconds. 

 

Felix had stumbled toward one of the baristas, who had not been so lucky with avoiding the glass and had cuts all over his face and hands. There was one particularly large one in his shoulder, but the barista only shook his head when Felix asked if he could help.

 

“Help them, they need it more.” the barista nodded his head to the other side of the store, were the class walls once stood. 

 

Minho followed his line of sight only to gape. A car had been thrown through the walls. A car with someone inside. 

 

Before he even realized what he was doing, Minho was at the side of the car, looking carefully in at the person inside. They were knocked out, blood caking the side of their face which was pressed against the steering wheel.  

 

Focusing his hearing, Minho sighed in relief when he heard the strong heartbeat that the person held, looking them over for any more wounds. 

 

“Are they…?” he hadn't even noticed Hyunjin stumble up next to him. At the shake of his head, the other sagged in relief, going into CPR mode instantly. “As long as there isn't anything that could hurt them more, we should just leave them. We don’t want to accidentally hurt them further.” 

 

Minho nodded in agreeance, opening his mouth to reply when a literal ball of fire crash-landed in front of the building. 

 

Both Hyunjin and Minho were sent flying back from the force, Minho’s head smacking the ground hard as Hyunjin hit a table. 

 

Minho groaned in pain as he sat up, instantly searching for Hyunjin and Felix. Felix and the barista had taken shelter under the coffee bar, Felix scrambling out of it to dart towards a prone form that lay sprawled on the ground. 

 

Minho didn't even notice he was rushing towards them until he was on his knees next to Felix. 

 

“Is he ok?” Minho asked concerned. His heart pounded as Felix lightly shook Hyunjin, fear tight in his own face as he watched Hyunjins for any sign of movement. 

 

Thankfully, Hyunjin showed it in the form of blinking in amazement towards Felix, who raised an eyebrow at him in response. 

 

“Wow...you do look like an angel when your upside down--” Felix sighed but smiled in relief towards Minho. 

 

“He’s fine,” he said dryly, leaning back. 

 

Minho shook his head, eyes glancing back towards the car. He stood instantly. 

 

“What is it--” Felix didn’t finish his sentence as he found what Minho was looking at. 

 

The car had caught fire. 

 

Hyunjin sat up, “Shit.” 

 

Felix looked towards Minho seriously, “You got your suit on you right?” 

 

“Yeah in my bag why--” Minho’s eyes widened in realization before he darted towards where they were sitting, searching for his bag. 

 

He let out a cry of triumph as he found it, yelling over to Felix, “Does this thing work over clothes?!” 

 

“Of course!” Felix yelled back, smacking his watch before smirking, “I have the schematics from the suit. You should be able to withstand the heat of the fire with the suit on.” 

 

“Get in, get the person, get out,” Hyunjin added seriously, leaning his back against the wall as he sat up, Felix still kneeling next to him. 

 

Minho nodded, slipping the suit on over his clothes before pulling the mask on. He clicked a button on the built-in control panel on the inside of his left arm, activating the part of the suit that would protect him from heat. 

 

He wasted no time in going towards the car, trusting in Felix’s abilities in the science department to have made the suit perfectly. 

 

He reached through the flames, the heat of them barely being felt through the fabric of his suit as he grabbed onto the door handle, bracing himself against the side of the car before ripping the door off its hinges. He looked in, eyes searching past the flames to find the person inside. 

 

Quickly, but carefully, he leaned closer, reaching for the seatbelt that held the person in place. He ground his teeth together before using all his strength to pull it apart, throwing the broken pieces out behind him. Then he slowly, gently, picked up the person, trying to be mindful of their head wound, along with any other that they couldn’t see, dragging them out of the car. 

 

He made sure they were a good distance away from the car before stopping, heart pounding. 

 

Felix was on in him in a second, carefully checking him over as Hyunjin threw a loose curtain on the person he had just saved, snuffing out the fire that clung to their pant leg before checking their pulse. 

 

“They’re ok,” he reported, “Probably a head injury, possible neck injury along with at least a few second and third degree burns on his leg and smoke inhalation.” 

 

“But they’re alive,” Minho concluded, body sagging as Felix supported him.

 

Felix nodded, smiling slightly, “They’re alive.” 

 

None of them noticed as the barista, left alone under the coffee bar as Felix left to check on Hyunjin pulled out his phone, snapping a photo that would later go viral and set forth a series of events Minho would never have seen coming. 

 

\---

The months after the explosion leads Minho to become stronger as a hero, alongside forming friendships with Chan, Jisung and Changbin. The three boys hung out with Minho, Felix and Hyunjin every chance they could, bonding over old take-out food and bad movies. 

 

As it turns out that the fireball had come from one of the members of 3racha. According to witnesses, the one that called themselves SpearB had thrown the fireball towards the villain they were fighting -- only for the villain to direct the fireball, sending it flying towards the cafe. 

 

But Minho didn’t care about that. What he did care about was the news article written about him and the sudden amount of followers that he seemingly gained overnight (Felix had created one for him even before he brought it up, the little bugger). 

 

Apparently, a photo of himself saving the person from the burning car had been taken, a whole series of photos actually. Thankfully there was none that could connect him to his everyday self, and the one photo that included Felix and Hyunjin had only the back of their heads in it. 

 

Minho had gone from only a small following of Felix and Hyunjin to almost a million overnight. His phone was exploding. 

 

With the following of course came haters, but Minho had learned from his dancing days to ignore the words said behind a screen. 

 

Sighing, he threw his phone onto the couch, grumbling to himself as Felix continued to ignore him, Hyunjin snoring away on the younger boys bed. 

 

Minho really didn't know why they didn't just get together already, or why Hyunjin even kept his apartment seeing as he spent most of his time at Minho and Felix’s. 

 

“You seem unhappy,” Felix commented after another 5 mins of Minho's grumbling, glancing away from his notebook full of formulas to looked at his friend. 

 

“I haven’t been able to use my phone all day because of that damn account! Why couldn’t you have put it on your phone?” Minho rolled onto his back, glaring towards Felix. 

 

Said boy only shrugged, “You are the Superhero, not me.” 

 

Minho narrowed his eyes at Felix, “You knew this was going to happen, didn’t you?” 

 

Felix cracked a smile but didn't say anything, turning back to his notebook as Minho demanded he answers. 

 

“Yo losers,” Hyunjin appeared, looking ruffled from sleep as slumped against the doorway, “I want coffee.” 

 

“You're addicted,” Felix commented, scowling as Hyunjin tried to drape himself over Felix. “Get off you overgrown leach-” 

 

“Lixie...get me a coffee please~” 

 

“Hyunjin get your own coffee, I’m in the middle of research for my final project-”

 

“I’ll go,” Minho said, sitting up. Hyunjin beamed at him, eyes crinkling together as he successful laid on top of Felix who grumbled but didn't shove him off.

 

“Thank you Minnie!” he called as Minho left the house, now wrapped around Felix who he had torn away from his computer after complaining that the other hadn’t taken a break in 3 days. 

 

Minho sighed as he closed the door, feeling semi-jealous of his friends not-relationship. Even though neither of them was willing to admit they loved one another, it was clear that they did. Minho wanted that. 

 

Minho shook his head, smiling towards the girl that held the door open for him as he darted inside the Starbucks. With their normal cafe out of commission still, they had to settle for Starbucks and their overpriced drinks. 

 

While waiting in line after ordering Hyunjins overly caffeinated drink, Minho’s attention was caught by three familiar faces sitting at a table near the corner. 

 

He didn’t mean to eavesdrop but with enhanced hearing, it came naturally to him. 

 

“I still can’t believe he got away,” Changbin growled towards the other two, sounding angered. 

 

“These things happen Changbin. We just have to track him down again.” Chan replied, clearly trying to keep the peace. 

 

Can’t believe who got away? Minho wondered as his name was called. He smiled thankfully towards the barista, turning around and going to leave when a hand wrapped around his wrist. He turned around to see Jisung, eyes sparkling slightly as Minho’s eyes met Jisungs own. 

 

“Minho!” said boy smiled back towards Jisung, heart fluttering slightly. Out of the few times that they had hung out, Minho had managed to develop a crush on the other. He was nice and seemed fairly interested in Minho. 

 

_ “Batman or Superman?” Jisung giggled late one night, huddled beside Minho on their couch as Hyunjin snored into Felix's chest, said boy speaking in soft English to a curly-haired Chan and a half-awake Changbin.  _

 

_ Minho smiled back, shifting slightly closer to Jisung, “Hmmm, Batman.”  _

 

_ “But Superman has all those cool powers!” Jisung practically yelled back, earning a glare from the other four.  _

 

_ “True, but Batman has all those cool gadgets, is a billionaire, trains cool ninja children,” Minho threw a hand up in the air, “Not to mention his badass butler.”  _

 

_ Jisung smiled softly, eyes looking toward Minho with this fondness that made him blush. “You amazing, you know that?”  _

 

_ Minho rolled his eyes, cheeks still red, “Shut up squirrel boy.”  _

 

_ Jisung laughed, loud and full of life. It was a sound Minho wouldn’t mind hearing for the rest of his life.  _

 

“Jisung,” Minho replied, looking at the hand still wrapped around his wrist. “What’s up.” 

 

Jisung looked nervous, “Um, well, the others want me to bring you to the table to um, talk about something.” 

 

Minho was intrigued, glancing towards the others still sat at the table. Both Chan and Changbin looked serious, faces blank as they watched Jisung and Minho. Minho nodded, following Jisung back to the table. 

 

“Minho, nice to see you again,” Chan said softly, eyes practically boring into Minho's own. 

 

“Jisung said you wanted to talk to me?” he replied, heart, feeling heavy for some reason. 

 

Jisung seemed to scowl, mouth opening to speak when Changbin interrupted, face hard. 

 

“We know your Shifter.” Minho froze, “We also know that Felix and Hyunjin both know.” 

 

“...what?” 

 

Chan sighed, eyeing Changbin before speaking, “We weren’t going to be so tactless about this but I guess it's too late now. Like Changbin said we know you are Shifter. It's why we first approached Hyunjin in fact. We wanted to confirm if it really was you or not-” 

 

Minho spoke calmly, “So you used Hyunjin? You used my best friend...just to see if I was the fucking Shifter?” 

 

Jisung shifted uncomfortably, “Minho-” 

 

“What kind of person does that?” Minho hissed, eyes wide, “You can’t just use people like that! Hyunjin trusted you, I trusted you!” 

 

Chan spoke calmly, “We needed to confirm. Hyunjin was the best bet at getting close to you in a short enough period of time.” 

 

Minho stood, eyes turning a stony blue colour in anger, “Well you confirmed. You figured it out, good for you. I never would have guessed that 3rachca were so rude.”

 

“You-” Jisungs eyes were wide, shock flowing through them as he watched Minho. 

 

Minho laughed bitterly, “That's right. I know. I knew the moment I met you three. But I trusted you three so I never said anything, though maybe, someday you’d tell me and the others. But clearly, I was wrong.” 

 

He turned to leave, grip tight on Hyunjins drink as Changbin spoke one last time, tone hard yet sad, “Hang up the suit Minho. Or we’ll be forced to take action. You're not legal.” 

 

Minho left without another word, exited the Starbucks and began to storm down the street when a hand wrapped around his wrist once more. 

 

He whipped around, anger filling his veins, “What do you want Jisung.” 

 

Jisung bit his lip, eyes full of so much sadness that Minho almost forgave him, “Minho I swear that I never lied to you-”

 

“You just didn’t tell the truth.” 

 

Jisung wilted, “I mean…” 

 

Minho sighed, feeling exhausted, “Listen Jisung, I have to go. Hyunjins iced coffee is going to melt and I don't want to deal with his whining.” 

 

Jisung looked torn before he nodded, smiling sadly, “Just...know that I am sorry.” 

 

Minho replied, turning around and leaving Jisung behind on the street, tears starting to pool in his eyes, “I’m sorry too.”  

 

\---

It was storming by the time he got home. Somehow he felt like it reflected his mood perfectly. He didn't know how to feel, knowing that the only reason those three had gotten close to him and his friends was to confirm if he was Shifter or not. Was everything a lie? The inside jokes? The laughter? The flirting between him and Jisung? The fond looks that Chan gave Felix whenever they spoke to one another in their native language? The snappy yet kind comebacks that Changbin managed to match Hyunjin in? 

 

Was any of it true? 

 

How was he supposed to tell his friends that they had been lied too? That they had opened their hearts to the wrong people? 

 

As he climbed the stairs that lead to his apartment, a sudden uneasy feeling filled his chest. 

 

That feeling only got worse as he realized that the door to his apartment was ajar. Instantly tensing, he quietly made his way towards the door, shoving it open. 

 

He paled as he took in the state of his apartment. It was ruined. The couch was on its side, there were dents in the walls, the coffee table smashed. Felix's textbook was on the ground, pages ripped out of it and scattered across the floor. 

 

Minho swallowed thickly, heart hammering in his chest as he called out, “Felix? Hyunjin?” 

No answer. They were gone. 

 

Minho trembled, falling to his knees as his heart began to pound, iced drink long since spilled on the floor. They were gone. 

 

He barely looked up when his phone vibrated in his pocket, pulling it out with shaking hands. 

 

A sob tore its way out of his throat when he saw the message, throwing his phone away and curling into a ball. 

 

‘I told you I’d get my revenge Kid.’ continued to flash across the screen of his phone, the sound of the vibrations against the wood floor echoing over the sound of Minho's sobs. 

 

They were gone.

 

\----

 

Minho didn't leave the apartment for 2 days. He could barely force himself to stand up and crawl into his room. 

 

He hadn't eaten for those two days, the events surrounding his life turning him off the thought of food. Besides, he didn't think he would be able to keep anything down. 

 

Felix and Hyunjin were missing. Taken. 

 

Kidnapped. 

 

It was clear they fought back against whoever it was attacking them due to the blood on the ground and the state of the apartment. 

 

Their captors had clearly waited until Minho left the apartment, had been watching them long enough to realize their patterns, their schedules. Watching them long enough to realize that the things that meant the most to Minho was his friends and decided that they would be an act of perfect revenge. 

 

And they were right. Minho felt broken, not knowing where his friends were, who had taken...not knowing what was happening to them.

 

Minho had made a lot of enemies that could have easily tracked him down eventually. The list went on for pages. 

 

He wanted nothing more than to search endlessly, to rip apart the earth until he found them, brought them home. But he had no idea where to start, no idea what to actually do. 

 

At exactly 2:12 AM on the second day of them missing, Minho’s apartment door swung open. 

 

Minho had moved to the ground beside the window, eyes staring blankly out at the night sky before his head snapped towards the door.

 

He watched, silent as three figures came in, each of them freezing at the sight of the apartment. 

 

Minho barely saved them a glance, eyes drifting back to the window. 

 

“W-what the hell happened?” Jisung gasped, and Minho pressed his head against the window pane. 

 

“Minho?” Chan carefully stepped closer, eyeing the limp looking boy on the ground. “What’s going on? Wheres Felix and Hyunjin?” They had come to apologize only to find a destroyed apartment and no sign of the two anywhere. 

 

“Taken.” was all he said, voice rough and eyes blank. 

 

“Taken? Taken by who exactly?” Changbin demanded, all grit and anger. 

 

“I don't know.” 

 

“What do you mean you don't know?” Changbin stepped closer, eyes flame. 

 

Minho met them with such a strong broken look that he froze in shock, “I don't know. I came home and they were gone. Taken.” 

 

Chan and Jisung kneeled next to him, Jisung carefully guiding him away from the window. “We’ll find them.”

 

Minho wanted to burst into tears again, “How?” 

 

“We will. I promise…” Chan bit his lip, “Minho-”

 

“They were the ones that convinced me to use my powers for good you know.” Minho laughed brokenly, “They trained me...Felix made the suit...Hyunjin laughed when I turned into a whale. They helped me realize that I could something good in my life.”

 

“Min-” 

 

“That stupid not-couple.” Minho's eyes pricked with tears, “I miss them. I need them.” 

 

He watched as the three exchanged looks he couldn't read before Changbin spoke, “We will find them Minho. I swear it.” 

 

And Minho sobbed.

 

...

Then he dried his tears, shifting to stand, eyes changing. They were still broken looking, and Jisung had a feeling they would be that way until they found Felix and Hyunjin, but there was a layer of determination overtop, a thin layer of hope gleaming. 

 

“Then let's find them already.” 

 

\---

 

“Wow Minho you made a lot of enemies,” Jisung commented, looking through the files on Felix's laptop. Somehow it had been saved from being damaged apart from a crack across the screen. 

 

“I can’t believe the schematics -” Chan gaped, “How in the hell did Felix do this?”

 

Minho cracked a smile, “Felix is brilliant. He made my suit too.” 

 

Chan gaped, even more, eyes almost popping out of his skull, “Damn.”

 

“Wait,” Jisung paused on one name, eyes widening, “Park Sooyoung.” 

 

Minho frowned, “I never fought them directly-”

 

“But you captured their right-hand man,” Changbin pointed out, “The Park Gang is known for getting revenge on anyone that wronged them.” 

 

“But why take Felix and Hyunjin?” Chan asked, the silent ‘alive?’ at the end of the sentence ringing in Minho's ears. 

 

Something Felix had said came floating back to him. 

 

‘It looks like Park is looking into creating their own soldiers using the chemicals from that experiment which turned Chae. They’ve been buying stock in a bunch of companies and investing in research projects all related to it.’ 

 

“Parks trying to create their own army of soldiers using this chemical that turned Chae into what he was.” Minho frowned, “He might want to use it on them.” 

 

“That and they knew that out of anyone Felix and Hyunjin mattered the most to you.” Jisung pointed out, “It was a double hit. Get new soldiers and get revenge on you.” 

 

“Parks our best lead.” Chan spoke, “We need to follow through with it. It’s been two days already -- who knows what they could have done to them.” 

 

\---

 

“What do you want from us, you bitch?” Felix hissed towards the people in front of him, eyes aflame with rage.

 

“Oh darling,” the figure grinned, “It's not you we want. It's your little friend.” 

 

“What friend? The only friend I have is Felix.” Hyunjin responded, glaring towards the figure and their goons. 

 

“I mean your friend, one Lee Minho,” the figure's teeth seemed to gleam in the dinghy light, “Or should I call him The Shifter?” 

 

Both Felix and Hyunjin froze, horror filling their eyes. 

 

The figure chuckled once more before snapping their fingers, one of the goons coming closer to the two bound boys. 

 

“Whoa, buddy what do you think you're doing with that?” Hyunjin demanded as the goon neared him, tugging at his bounds. The goon was holding a springe filled with a strange looking blue liquid. Neither Felix or Hyunjin wanted to find out what the chemical was. 

 

The figure chuckled lightly, eyes looking gleefully as Hyunjin struggled. “We might as well have some fun while we wait for Minho, huh?” 

 

“Leave him alone!” Felix yelled as another goon grabbed onto Hyunjins head, tilting it so his neck was bared. Felix could only watch as the goon pressed the needle into Hyunjins skin, emptying the springe into the boy as his hissed in pain. 

 

Hyunjin only struggled for a few more seconds before slumping forwards, seemingly unconscious.

 

Felix swallowed thickly, fear gripping his heart, “Hyunjinnie?” 

 

Hyunjin didn't respond, and for a few brief seconds, Felix couldn't breathe. Then Hyunjin moved, lifting his head to face Felix. 

 

Only when Felix's eyes met Hyunjins he knew something was seriously wrong. After all, Hyunjins eyes were a soft brown, not a blinding blue and he didn't have large fangs.

 

\---

 

The plan was simple. 3racha distracts everyone while Minho goes in and gets his friends. Jisung would be on standby to help Minho if he needed it. 

 

They had managed to narrow the search down to this base, making a plan that was generally foolproof as long as everyone stuck to it. 

 

Minho was gone, racing towards the building the instant the sign happened, the ground shaking as Changbin let out an explosion. 

 

3racha would be distracting from the front, attacking and drawing their attention while Minho would slip in the back, working his way through the building until he found his friends. 

 

The plan was working, for the most part, Minho only having to knock out two guards on his way in. 

 

Changbin had shocked even his friends when he managed to hack into the Parks system, downloading the blueprints to the wrist screen Felix had installed not long before he was kidnapped. 

 

Minho got to the area where they had decided the prisoners had been placed in relative ease. He didn't trust it.

 

He was right not to trust it. 

 

As soon as he opened the door to enter the room a bullet lodged in the wall near his head. 

 

Swallowing, Minho looked across the room, eyes widening instantly. 

 

A woman was standing perfectly still, eyes trained on Minho as he inched more into the room. She was objectively beautiful, lips full and painted red, hair perfectly placed around her face. But there was something in the way she looked towards Minho, eyes perfectly blank that made him realize to look under the beauty to see the monster within. 

 

Behind her, tied to a chair, was Felix. He had a gag around his mouth, bags under his eyes and bruises but looked relatively ok. There was no sign of Hyunjin. 

 

Felix met his eyes instantly, trying to convey a message. Muffled words came from behind his gag.

 

“Hello Shifter,” the woman said, lowering her gun as the door behind him slammed shut, a lock clicking in place. “Or should I say Lee Minho?” 

 

“Let them go Sooyoung, they did nothing wrong.” Minho responded, watching a perfectly shaped eyebrow raise, “It's me you want.” 

 

“You're not wrong, Minho,” Sooyoung responded, moving to stand behind Felix as the boy continued to stare at Minho, trying to convey something to him. “I do want you. I want you to feel broken, destroyed. Your friends here are the best bet at that.” 

 

Sooyoung smirked towards him as she placed her hand on Felix’s cheek, digging her sharp nails into the younger's skin. 

 

Minho grit his teeth, eyes flaring in anger, “What makes you think to hurt them will affect me?” 

 

“Because, Lee Minho, you have nothing else.” Sooyoung chuckled, “Hwang and Lee are your only weaknesses.” 

 

Minho met Felix's eyes for a brief second, the boy seeming to try and scream at him with only his gaze. “Let them go. You can have me, you can use me as a soldier -- I don’t care just let them go. Please. They don't deserve this.” 

 

“A lot of people don’t deserve what they get Minho.” Sooyoung nodded towards Felix, “They will be perfect test subjects, perfect soldiers. Of course, you can join me, Minho. You can lead your friends. I am, after all, in need of a new right hand.” 

 

Minho sneered towards her, “I would never join you.” 

 

Sooyoung frowned, “What a pity.” 

 

Felix shifted in his seat, muffled words coming from behind his gag. 

 

Sooyoung raised a hand, snapping her fingers together. For a second, everything was silent. 

 

Minho waited, tense and itching to just grab his friends and run. 

 

Then he heard it. The low growling coming from behind him. Swallowing, Minho slowly looked over his shoulder, Felix's muffled shouts growing louder. 

 

Behind him, snarling and eyes seemingly gleaming with rage, was a large wolf. Its fangs were out, body poised to pounce at any second. 

 

“Meet Luna.” Sooyoung said, smiling wickedly, “I heard you’re good with animals Minho.” 

 

Minho was frozen, eyes locked onto Luna. “Nice wolfy,” he said weakly, heart pounding. 

 

He barely had a second to react as the wolf came rushing towards him, teeth snapping and nails clanking against the ground. 

 

“I do hope you have fun with Luna, Minho,” Sooyoung spoke, kicking Felix's chair over with the boy on it. Then he noticed the other wolf slinking its way into the room, eyes glowing brightly with hungry as it looked towards Felix. the blue of its eyes almost a dark black.

 

Minho's eyes widened, panicked as Felix struggled to untie himself. 

 

Sooyoung laughed over her shoulder, a door opening as she began to walk away, throwing a smirk of glee towards Minho. 

 

Minho could only watch as his friend struggled, the wolf inching closer as Sooyoung slipped out of the room. 

 

“Felix-” Minho began to yell, stopping short to dodge the wolf that snapped at him. 

 

Felix seemed to ignore him, still trying to untie himself from the chair. Minho had to look away as the wolf in front of him snapped forwards, teeth out and drool hitting the floor. 

 

Minho rolled, he ducked and spun. He had no idea how to stop this animal without turning into a wolf himself. Wait. 

 

Minho wanted to smack himself. He was called the Shifter for a reason!

 

Minho focused, feeling his bones shift, fur growing over his skin (and suit) as he leaned forwards onto his hands, which turned into clawed paws. 

 

Letting out a low growl, he snarled back at the wolf. Then he lunged. 

 

He didn’t know how long he and the wolf fought, a mess of snarling fur and snapping teeth, all he knew was he wanted the wolf to stop fighting already! As if it could hear him, the wolf froze, tongue dropping out of their mouth as he rolled off of Minho, painting yet looking content. Minho was confused. But he had other problems to deal with. 

 

He turned and began to bound in the direction Felix was - only to see him curled up on the ground with the other wolf curled up next to him. Felix was petting the wolfs head, gag pulled around his neck. The wolf itself look exhausted, whimpering softly as Minho came closer, shifting back to his human form as he neared. 

 

“Felix?” he asked softly, kneeling next to him and the wolf. 

 

Felix didn't look up, eyes locked onto the wolf beside him, “She gave him this chemical. He screamed so much.” 

 

“Who Felix?” Minho's heart felt like it was pounding out of his chest. 

 

“Hyunjin.” Felix finally looked up at him then, tears in his eyes, “He turned into this and now he can’t turn back.” 

 

Minho felt his heart break, eyes landing on the wolf that looked towards him in both fear and hope. “Hyunjnnie?”

 

The wolf seemed to nod, nosing at Minho's hand. 

 

“We need to find a way to change him back,” Felix said, squeezing his eyes shut. “How’d you stop the other wolf by the way?” 

“Oh, um, all I really did was think that I wanted it to stop and it did,” Minho muttered back, eyes focused on Hyunjin. 

 

Felix hummed before freezing, “Minho. You said you thought and it stopped?” 

 

“Yeah, why-” 

 

“Try and think you want Hyunjin to turn back.” Felix demanded, “Think only about that and look at only Hyunjin. Look at him in the eyes.” 

 

“Why-”

 

“Just do it!” Felix looked desperate, “Please.” 

 

Minho swallowed but nodded. Focusing, he looked directly into Hyunjins eyes. Shift back. 

 

Hyunjin whimpered once more before his form began to shift, a low whine coming from his throat as his bones snapped and moved into the form of human limbs, fur vanishing. Both Minho and Felix watched in amazement as soon all that was left was Hyunjin himself. 

 

Felix's hands hovered over Hyunjins arm, eyes wide and arm's shaking, “Hyunjinnie-” 

 

Hyunjin reached out, wrapping a hand around both Minho and Felix's arm's and tugging them closer. Soon the three found themselves in a hug, a mess of limbs as they tried to hug each other closely. 

 

Minho felt tears pool in his eyes as he felt his two best friends, a smile finally working its way onto his face as he listened to their heartbeats. They were ok. A little roughed up and tired but ok. 

 

The peacefulness was interrupted by a large slam on the outside of the door, startling them all. 

 

“MINHO ARE YOU IN THERE?” ah that's right. He came with 3racha. 

 

“Is that Jisung?” Hyunin gaped, voice raspy. 

 

“JISUNG STOP SLAMMING ON THE DOOR!” 

“And Changbin?” Felix turned his attention to Minho, eyebrow raised. 

 

“WILL YOU BOTH SHUT THE HELL UP?” 

 

“And there's Chan,” Minho said finally, a smile still painting his lips. 

 

“What the hell are they doing here?” Felix asked, blinking slowly towards the door. 

 

“It's a long story.” 

 

Another loud bang sounded as 3racha began to yell at one another on the other side of the door, the three inside sharing a look before beginning to laugh loudly. 

 

“HEY, I CAN HEAR THEM LAUGHING!” 

 

“STOP YELLING JISUNG!” 

 

\----

 

The weeks following saving Felix and Hyunjin were average, filled with them temporarily moving into Hyunjins apartment after deeming Minho and Felix's currently unliveable. 

 

Minho had taken some time off from being the Shifter, reluctant to leave his friends alone. He finally put the suit back on after Felix and Hyunjin insisted, declaring they were done with his mother-henning. 

He was missed when he came back, with people posting photos and videos all stating, “He’s back! The Shifter is back!” 

 

Good things came from Felix and Hyunjins kidnapping, like him discovering a new power and a greater bond forming between the three. Not to mention Hyunjin finally built up the guts to ask Felix on a date. They were still talking about where to go on the date but Minho was happy they were talking. 

 

Jisung and he were also getting closer again. There was still a wound that needed to be healed, the betrayal Minho felt still deep in his soul that he knew wouldn't go away soon. Jisung understood and for now, they were taking it slow, rebuilding their relationship. 

 

In all, Minho was falling back into his life from before. 

 

In good days, there were bad days that broke through but Minho had his friends to help pull him out. 

 

Sooyoung was still out there, still doing drug deals and building her empire, and Minho knew that someday their paths would cross again. 

 

Minho was happy. He was content. He had friends, an almost-boyfriend, a home and a job that left him feeling fulfilled. 

 

If you asked him a year ago what he would be doing in a year, he never would have answered being well-known Superhero whose friends were his guy-in-the-chair and a superhero almost-boyfriend. He would have probably answered, “still in school, struggling.”. 

 

And while that life might have been easier for him, with fewer struggles and less blood, sweat and tears - he never regretted giving into Felix and Hyunjin that day.  

 

Minho stood at the top of a building, watching over the city with calm happiness that anyone could see. 

 

“Hey!” he looked down to see a small boy, around the age of 9 or 10 staring up at him with so much awe in his eyes Minho couldn't help but grin widely back. “Who are you, Mister? You look so cool!” 

 

“Me?” Minho smirked, eyes twinkling behind his mask, “Well, I’m The Shifter.” 

  
  
  



End file.
